


Salineas - Don't leave me hanging

by Skyinou



Series: Wants, Needs, Help, and a whole lot of trouble. [4]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Post-Canon, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:35:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28197780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyinou/pseuds/Skyinou
Summary: The day after Prime's defeat. Adora and Catra head out to Salineas for two days to help rebuild.Catra has a lot to deal with: emotions, past to face, and Adora's arms for comfort.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Series: Wants, Needs, Help, and a whole lot of trouble. [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2056884
Kudos: 57





	Salineas - Don't leave me hanging

**Author's Note:**

> Directly follows the previous entries of the serie.
> 
> Please share your thoughts in the comments!

A tingle of magic wakes Catra up softly. Her body still awakens harshly, showing every signs of fear and doubts. Puffed tail, flatten ears, bushy fur, she’s used to it now. She’s been that way since her rescue from Prime’s ship. Plus this morning she’s tired, sore all over, after the events of yesterday. The battle, the meeting, Adora’s strength, Adora’s clumsiness, Adora’s cuteness, Sparkles unending teasing. She tries to go back to sleep. She senses the magic again.

“Oh. hmm. Sorry…”

Catra pricks one ear up.

“Hmm, hi? Good morning?”

Catra sits up, flutters her eyes open to finally see Sparkles’s back, standing a few feet away. “’morning?”

“I did knock, and since there was no answer I let myself in and I know we didn’t really made a precise schedule, but it’s already late, so, can you wake Adora up and come eat breakfast, please?” Sparkles speaks nervously, still facing away, and carries on even more uneasy. “As soon as... possible?” She adds, as if she expects it to take long.

“Okay?” Catra answers, not sure what’s going on. She might act all defiant, but years as a soldier has made her pretty punctual and quickly ready in the morning. And for what she knows, as deep as Adora’s sleep is, she’s not one to refuse to get up once awake either.

“Good!” Sparkles concludes before teleporting away, not once looking in Catra’s direction.

Sparkles seemed red, overheating, Catra thinks, but herself can feel a chill in the morning air coming through the window. Her eyes finally focuses, look down and she flinches in a blush. Adora and her are both still completely naked. The towels are lying on the floor, the quilt is nowhere to be seen, and Adora is… being Adora, apparently resting after an eventful sleep-fight. How can she even sleep like that? As Catra is simply sitting on the bed, Adora’s situation is… interesting, Catra grins. Her head lies face down on Catra’s lap, both arms hugging her waist. Adora’s torso is all twisted, her lower body is facing up, one leg hanging out of the bed. Catra’s hands are nested in Adora’s hair, as if she is holding the blond head down between her legs. The scene certainly makes quite the view for someone who would suddenly appear in front of them, like Sparkles did a moment ago. In a mix of embarrassment and obligation, Catra shakes Adora softly to rouse her.

“Hey Adora, good morning!”

“Whaaaaa… Hey Catra!”

“Slept well? Looks like you had fun! Any dream worth sharing?”

“I… don’t remember.” Adora blushes and looks away as she realises the state she’s in.

“Riiight.” Catra emphasises, as she takes Adora’s head in both hands and close up the distance between their lips. Before they touches, Catra looks right into Adora’s eyes. “Good morning.” She whispers and she kisses Adora softly.

“Good morning.” Adora answers brightly, smiling, now visibly happy to be woken up by Catra and a kiss.

“Unfortunately, Sparkles is already waiting for us!” Catra exclaims as she stands up but bends down to find her clothes.

“You still call her _Sparkles_.”

“Is it bothering you? I think it suits her way more than _Glimmer_. She has way too much energy! Way too bold...”

“Wait, how do you know she’s wai- Did she-”

“Yes, she sure did! We might want to make her stop that if I stay in your room.”

“I thought she made it pretty clear it was _our_ room now!”

“She did, but you didn’t actually say it’s what _you_ wanted.” Catra starts to grin, flashing her big teasing eyes.

“But you know I- Oh, you just want me to say it, right?” Adora smiles self-consciously from voicing aloud her own obliviousness. She walks to Catra and embraces her with both arms, pulling her close so that their foreheads touch slightly. “It’s our room now, our home. Of course if you want to.”

“It feels nice. Having a place to stay, with you.”

They stay close together for a long minute, before departing for breakfast. There’s a lot to do today too, and now a place to come back to. After eating in a hurry, pressed by Sparkles who’s schedule seems infinitely worse than theirs, but still finding time to tease them about the morning sight, they are teleported to Salineas. The queen only stays an instant to greet Mermista and disappears in her usual cloud of pink lights.

\-----

Still dizzy after the teleportation, Catra grabs Adora’s arm to steady herself. But soon, as she looks around, she holds on to it as if her life depends on. She straightens up, forces herself to watch. This side of the war is on her, not on Prime. No Spire, no chip, no clone. The situation looks bad. The Sea Gate is shattered. All is left is some remnant of light at its base, barely blocking the waves of the agitated ocean. The two statues arched over it are crumbling. The palace is in ruins, with no residual signs of its former glory. And the town is only piles after piles of rubble, perforated houses and collapsed buildings. The marketplace is still littered with spoilt goods.

Catra is stumbling as she advances in the middle of the bleak scene, still hanging at Adora’s arm, strong, unshakeable. She can see the distress in the princess’s eyes, the dread, the sadness. For a second she fears that Adora will leave, run away from her, flee her past. The second feels like hours, letting her remember every bad things she has done when she was unable to see, unable to comprehend how destructive she was. How wicked she has become. But Catra doesn’t look away. She doesn’t turn her back on it. And so neither does Adora. She stays with her. She supports her, unwavering.

Guards and workers are starting to gather around them, as they arrive near the makeshift camp outside of the town, in a little cove that has escaped the destruction, only because there was nothing there to ruin. The harsh gazes are piercing through Catra’s skin like needles, the whispers are shredding her ears.

In the command tent, slightly taller than the others and a banner hanged on its side, Mermista is trying to organise the few people they have to work with. The work is dangerous, most of the rubbles are unstable, and hard because there will be a lot to excavate and carry away. And the ocean is currently unfriendly, making the navigation, therefore the transport of unprepared people or goods, unwise. But a whole town’s worth of people are waiting to come and rebuild, and there is simply no way to convince them to come a few days later because the weather isn’t good enough.

They have to do with what they have. Limited. Many things have to be set apart, give up on. And the princesses are bad at it. They need to carefully plan, chart, triage what should and shouldn’t be recovered, definitely collapsing some remaining buildings instead of attempting doomed-to-fail repairs. They must stop trying to save everything. And the princesses are bad at it.

Catra does not know if she’s allowed to think that way anymore. Cutting losses. Doing little things that will work, instead of bigger things that _might_ work. In a few moment, both princesses will have all their focus on the Sea Gate, She-Ra slowly rebuilding it, while Mermista settles the waves down. The remaining people are no princesses with powers to save the day against all odds, just regular people, eager to help, strong, but still only people. Without proper planning and command, this will turn into chaos.

Why is Catra here? She wants to help, she came to do what she could, whatever it is. So she speaks up her mind. Angry looks, yelling, rage. What could she know about sacrifice, about emotional value of things she suggests to discard. But she’s right. She’s scared of believing it, so she doubts it. But Adora does not. The sudden warmth of She-Ra envelopes her. The arm she was holding, is different, stronger, but still familiar, Adora’s arm. The sight of She-Ra helps convince people, and soon Catra is left alone at the command table, rearranging schedules, plans, teams.

Catra still feels the gazes and whispers, but at least she has something to occupy her mind now. And she’s good at it. The princesses were so inefficient that she basically has to start everything from scratch. Her memories and habits as commander come back. She tries her best to see the good parts. It hurts. She compromises to appease the others. The guards are easier to work with, as long as she does what their princess ordered. And right now, Mermista’s order was something like ‘huurrg, oookaaay, do whatever.’. They seem used to it. Catra chuckles nervously. She takes her time, takes advantage of every details to better her plans, manages every schedules to optimize important people’s time. And she’s good at it.

Between two thoughts, Catra uses her strength and claws to tear apart unrecoverable furnitures, small pieces, easier to carry. That helps her unwind. She’s afraid of showing her claws to the others. But the stupid joke of one of the guard puts her at ease. They braved tanks, robots, Hordak hand’s beam cannon, then they left and had to confront chipped friends, so her claws don’t really look that scary or dangerous to them anymore. Even if she knows it isn’t true, it helps.

Time flies when you are absorbed in your work. Catra dreads the moment to come. She must reassigned most of the people in different groups. She knows lots of them won’t be happy with her choices. Supplies, foods, tools, everything is lacking and nobody else seems to see, or more likely care. Some workers want to stick together for the warm feeling, love, friendship. She knows that feeling now too. She wants it as much as they do. Her warmth is far right now, she knows how much it hurts when you want it. Adora trusts her, and she believes in Adora. Therefore she has to trust herself and her plans.

As predicted, a pair of workers are starting to argue. Catra’s words don’t reach them because they don’t trust her. They seem tired, they most certainly are. She knows their reluctance mostly come from the fact that they have to follow _her_ orders, more than the decisions themselves. The weather has been menacing for some time now, and many tasks have to be done before it starts raining. The gloomy atmosphere, created by the heavy clouds, makes moods darker too. Fortunately, the guard captain intervenes and presses them to work. They yell, swear, but agree. The fact that he’s older, scary without his helmet on, and a foot taller than Catra helps too.

“Thanks.” Catra sighs, drained of her mental energy.

“I’m not doing it for you. Things have to be done, that’s all. We are in no position to refuse a hand, even a former enemy’s. But that makes us look like traitors.”

“You trust my ideas enough to defend them despite that-” Catra says a bit more smugly than she wanted.

“I do not trust you. I think you are lying, worming your way out of a bad situation, using the princess and She-Ra to survive. I would rather have you in a cell, and force any bits of informations about the Horde out of you, in case the war starts all over again. The princess said otherwise.”

“What if the princess is wrong?”

“That’s why I’m here. The princess keeps hope and light. I’m the shadow, protecting her and eliminating threats, making sure her kindness isn’t taken advantage of.”

“How long will it take to believe someone like me?”

“Days, years, who knows. But we both command troops, we learnt to see through lies over the years, forged justifications, hidden mistakes, turning situations in our favour with words to make defeat sound acceptable, you know how it works. If your lies are as important as I think, I’m confident I can see through them, or accept that I was wrong, quickly enough. Let’s get to work now, I win either way.”

“Win?” Catra asks as they start walking, only now remembering that she has to work with him for the rest of the day.

“If I’m right, I’ll strike you down without hesitation. Bringing justice for what you have done will be satisfying. And if I’m wrong, I will have witnessed something extraordinary! Something great born from kindness, proving our princesses’ ways are right, something worth telling stories to my children about. Until then, we are working to rebuild!”

Working with him is easy. He does not talk any more than necessary, but does not hesitate to speak his mind. Catra’s agility and his brute force make for an effective digging team. There are lots of cellars and other building’s remnants to secure, making sure they become clean stable basis, to build safely on top later.

By the end of the day, Catra is in a sorry state. It started raining earlier, and rummaging around in the damp atmosphere, digging, slashing and collapsing things has made her fur very dirty.

“You look nice!” Adora exclaims as she approaches, big grin on her face.

“Easy for you! I’m pretty sure She-Ra’s clothes can’t even get dirty!”

“Don’t worry, I’m suuuure Mermista would glaaaadly use her power to drown you clean with _water_! … Should we go back to Bright Moon tonight?”

“No. I’m trying hard to be accepted, I can’t really fly away to a comfy room right now. “ As she answers, Adora is smiling proudly.

When Catra finally goes to bed, it’s late and the tiredness makes her fall asleep almost instantly. There aren’t many showers so she needed to wait for her turn. Catra made the schedule. Catra hates water. She didn’t think she would need a shower that much when she made it. She’s in Adora’s arms, who’s already snoring quietly. Apparently, her job is way more tiring than it looks. She-Ra practically stood up there all day, wielding magic. She didn’t move much, but Catra can sense that Adora’s muscles are all tightened. The prospect of a mutual massage session doesn’t sound half bad. Maybe tomorrow night, right now she just wants to sleep.

\-----

The wake up is sudden, early, with guards already giving instructions outside, it reminds Catra of the impromptu morning exercises as cadets. Breakfast on the go, and the second day starts. She needs time to justify every decision she makes, she talks more than necessary, tries to open up a bit to them, but that also means they open up to her. And they all have many things to say. ‘You destroy my house, you ruined my life, you killed my friend…’

At least, her hard work is bearing fruits. Most of the people would rather not have her here, of course, but they have to recognise that with her help, they will have done well in two days what would have taken at least a week with much worse results. Catra can even feel that some of the blame they throw at her isn’t out of spite, but because they need some closure, they need to put it into words in order to forget. The same way Catra needs to face it in order to forgive herself. So she listens, and it hurts even more when she doesn’t see the familiar comfort of hatred in their eyes.

In the middle of the afternoon, Catra finally has a break with Adora. A little more and the Sea Gate will be up and running again. The sight of it shining again and the new weather, calm and peaceful, improve everyone else’s temper. The two girls sit on one of the floating stones, next to the glowing Gate. They can see ships arriving, full of impatient citizens coming to mourn, dream and hope, now that the weather let them. 

“Are you okay?” Adora asks strongly.

“I’m fine!”

“I’m just worried.”

“I know, I’m fine!”

Adora sighs and frowns. “You know you can talk to me.” Adora places her hand over Catra’s shoulder.

“Stop it!”

“Catra! Do you know how you look-”

“Stop fussing over me! Of course I know I look terrible! I’m aching all over after two days of painful work, while people telling me non-stop all the horrible things I did, of course it hurts, I want to run away, leave the pain behind! I don’t, because you convinced me it wouldn’t make me feel better anyway! I know I’m a mess, and the last thing I need is you reminding me! I need a break.” Catra shouts, trembling, faces away, shaking Adora’s hand off her shoulder. She glances back, sees a terrified Adora, whose eyes are wavering as if she just has been thrown away. “I meant a break from work, from all that,” Catra points at the destroyed town ahead. “Not from you, dummy.” She pulls Adora’s waist with her tail and drops her head on Adora’s shoulder.

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“Exactly that.” Catra answers, as Adora is already unconsciously taking her in a light hug. “Stay with me, hug me, take my mind away for a bit. Talk to me about good things, or silly things, what you did today, I don’t know…”

“Ooookaaay? I... have... no idea what to say? My day was boring, Mermista is complaining aaaall the time because it’s taking longer than anticipated, and my muscle are sore from not moving enough? Aaaand I feel super bad for complaining to _you_ about my insignificantly bad day?”

Catra chuckles, smiles, and Adora’s face lights up at the sight. They stay silent for a moment, before Mermista comes back and hurries Adora to work again. Catra still has a bit of free time, so she decides to wander around. She walks up a small path, away from the town, leading to a single building, barely standing over a cliff. Half of it is missing, but the ladder leading to what’s left of its attic reminds Catra of the heights of the Fright Zone she used to climb.

After ascertaining its safety, she climbs up and sits down facing the ocean, the wall facing the cliff now missing. There is barely enough space for her to sit on what’s left of the wooden floor, and she lets her legs hang over the edge. The building is overhanging the cliff so there is only void below her feet, until sharp rocks meet the waves. Falling would certainly means the death of her, but she knows her balance, and the sense of danger is overcome by the peaceful sight. Water. Catra hates water. The touch, the feeling, the way it messes with her fur, but this scenery, calm, strong, wavy yet unwavering, is beautiful. And she can’t see _anything else_ from there.

Noises. Someone is coming. She doesn’t recognise the steps. Catra leans back and looks down the ladder, surprised to see a small boy climbing. She has no time to understand what’s going on, that the kid is already up there, punching her repeatedly, yelling, raging at her. ‘because of you, my mom…’, ‘you killed her’, ‘it’s all your fault’ Catra hears. He’s too weak, too small to hurt her physically, but the words hurt all the same. She sighs, the break is over. She can feel his anger and his hatred. But right now they are both on the edge of a cliff, on wet wooden planks, on top of a half collapsed building. She tries to calm him down, he slips, and in an instant he’s hanging in the air over the empty space. She throws an arm around his chest, his weight drags her over the slippy wood, and she barely has the time to dig her claws deep into the edge of the floor while falling.

Catra’s hanging over the emptiness by her left hand, holding a very struggling boy, around his chest with her right arm. She needs to think. He’s panicking. She can feel the wooden plank cracking due to the pressure of her claws. He’s crying, yelling. She needs to calm him down before they both fall, and she tries. He doesn’t listen, frightened by the void.

“STOP MOVING OR I DROP YOU!”

The struggle stops. “… don’t drop me… please...”

“I’m not going to, I’m not letting you fall, ever.” Catra believes it, but her options are limited right now. This side of the wall is smooth, worn out by the time and salty air, and there is nothing to catch on, not even a window to throw the boy back into the building. The added weight and precarious grip prevents her for pulling them up. If he was facing her, maybe he could hold himself and free her right arm, but he’s not, so that’s not an option. Maybe with her legs? That seems rather unwise too.

“Why aren’t you dropping me?”

“You want me to drop-”

“NO! But you are supposed to be bad, I don’t understand!”

“I’m trying to not be bad anymore, now let me think-”

“Why?”

“Because I was… stupid?” Catra hesitates. She’s used now to the princesses and their overanalysing-your-faults kindness, but dealing with a kid is new to her. She can only remember pushing other kids away in her past, and as cadets, there was no children around.

“Then why didn’t you try earlier, when mom was still here…”

“I needed the right people to tell me I was stupid. Don’t you need people to scold you too, someti-?” Catra stops mid sentence after hearing a noise.

“I don’t hurt-”

“Shhh!”

“I’m nothing like you-”

“No seriously, shut up! I’m trying to listen to something!” Silence. “Scream as loud as you can, there might be someone around.”

“Help, help!” Both of them yell for a moment. Silence again.

Catra sighs. Her left hand is starting to bleed, drilled by the splinters of the wood plank she is crushing in her claws. She tries to ease her grip around it, but she has to stop instantly feeling that it’s ready to shatter if not for the pressure of her fingers. Her arm aches too. She doesn’t know how long she can stay like this. If it comes down to it, maybe she can cushion his fall with her body.

“Please talk…”

“What?”

“I’m scared. If you freeze like that, I’m gonna start panicking again, okay???”

“Okay. So, does anybody know you are here?”

“I came with Grandma, but I ran away after seeing… our house.”

“How did you know I was here?”

“I used to come here to hide when angry, to be alone. I didn’t expect you to be here, until I saw you climbing the ladder.”

“Wait, you still came to fight me alone???”

“The princess made sure everyone knows you won’t hurt us. So I thought I could at least punch you...”

“Hahaha, Frosta did that too, punching me!” Catra exclaims laughing a bit.

“Princess”

“What?”

“Princess Frosta! If you want people to stop hating you, show some respect first!”

“Sorry, I’m not used to all that.” Catra answers timidly. It is humbling to be taught proper manners by a kid half her size who isn’t even a princess. But a sharp pain makes her grit her teeth. The continuous ache and strain is wrenching her arm and a shiver of fear spans throughout her whole body.

“Please hold on! You are strong, right? You can do it, can you???”

“I won’t let go-” Catra winces, but stops speaking because she hears another noise, not because of the pain. “Call for help again!” Both of them yell once more.

A strong glowy hand suddenly grab her left forearm from above.

“Hey Catra, how’s it hanging?” Adora asks with a big grin.

“Oh, you were waiting for it!” Catra says as she returns the grin, remembering one of their last training as cadets together.

“I can make you wait longer!” Adora retorts, but she’s already pulling up gently.

Once the three make their way down safely, the boy runs into an old woman arms, sobbing loudly. Catra sits astride a long stone bench, laying along the cliff, a safe distance from the edge, rightly placed to contemplate the ocean view. After sending the kid away, the old woman sits in front of her and starts treating her wounded hand. Bandages, herbs, ointments, she seems to know a lot about medicine and well prepared.

“I still hate you!” The boy shouts before starting to run in the direction of the town.

“Don’t worry about it. He’s young, he needs time to sort his emotions.”

“No, he’s right. Saving him doesn’t change… You don’t need to, I can have Adora heal me later.” Catra hesitates, not at ease having someone else taking care of her. She looks at Adora, still She-Ra, who has a weird embarrassed smile on her face. Adora is clenching and unclenching her hands nervously.

“Hem, you know, I’ve just spent the last two days doing stupidly precise work on the Sea Gate without a chance to loosen up, so right now, I don’t think I can do any proper unhurtful healing magic?” Adora states, unable to hide her shame of not being able to do something.

“Okay.” Catra says as she relaxes her hand and lets the old woman resume. Her movements seem familiar, it feels good. Catra hears a loud crash. She glances back to see an angry She-Ra levelling out the offending building. She chuckles. She faces the woman again, appreciating her meticulous work.

“Thank you, for saving him.”

“I didn-” Catra stumbles, not used to be thanked. “He still hates me.” 

“Ho ho, don’t get me wrong, I still hate you too.”

“He called you _Grandma_ , so…”

“Yes, dear, she was my daughter.”

“Why are everybody always wanting to help me!”

“You uses that hand to save him, I’m paying you back by healing it. And you are here because you know you did wrong, now.”

“What if it’s too late? If everybody I help just hates me whatever I do. What if I did too much before turning back?”

“Dear, you are looking the wrong way, I’m the old one here. I’m the one hurried to make sure I have no regret left. You are young, you have all the time you need ahead of you. It’s a good thing to remember your mistakes, but you should look forward, not backward! When he’s older and tell the story to his children, he won’t say _she destroyed everything_ anymore, but _she saved me_.” She speaks without stopping her hands, until she raises her head as Adora approach. “Of course for you youngsters it feels far away, but the hope is enough to keep you warm, and you have good friends too.” She finishes. Soon after, her treatment is done too, leaving Catra’s hand cleanly and tightly bandaged. “Keep it that way until tonight and you’ll be fine.” As she stands up, Catra sees, tied under her wrist, an old Horde badge, strongly striped by a blade.

“Thank you. How did you find us?” Catra asks looking back and forth between the two standing women.

“He’s been coming up here for years, I certainly knew where to look!” The old woman winks. “It took me a bit of time to get help, though.” She adds while wiggling her walking stick.

The guard captain arrives, picks her stuff up, and they make their way down the path leading to the town. Adora suddenly stops being She-Ra, and drop down to sit on the bench behind Catra, throwing both arms around her in a tight embrace all in one single motion.

“Please don’t do that to me again.” Adora whispers, nesting her head in Catra’s hair.

“Okay.” Catra whispers in return. Her tail grabs Adora’s leg lovingly.

“You did good though.”

Catra places her hands on Adora’s arm and they stay that way for a short time, until the captain comes back. He looks at Catra. Then Adora. Then Catra again. He seems to think that words are unnecessary and would only spoil the cute scene in front of him.

“Okay okay, back to work, I know.” Catra says reluctantly. He nods and they make their way back to the town. 

Dinner time comes fast, and the two days of labour come to an end. The Sea Gate is up, the most dangerous works are done, and starting tomorrow, all kind of people will come and start the real reconstruction. After dinner, Adora and Catra head back to Bright Moon, with a little help of Sparkles and her pink lighted teleportation of course, which once again makes Catra dizzy enough to grab Adora’s arm strongly to steady herself. Fortunately, her body is starting to get used to it, and the effects pass quickly. They appeared right outside their room, and enter after exchanging good-nights with Glimmer and Bow, who was waiting for them.

\-----

Once alone inside, Adora looks at Catra and grins widely. “You are finally smiling again! That’s so cute!” She states teasingly.

“I’m not cute!” Catra answers defensively, yet blushing a little.

“Is it wrong for me to find you cute? I mean, it’s just the two of us right now.” Adora says softly, but still keeps her shit-eating grin on.

“Oh, come on, Adora, you are the one who’s cute, when not acting like a giant idiot.” Catra retorts, grinning back.

But Adora doesn’t blush like Catra wishes. Instead, she looks determined, and starts walking toward Catra. “Giant, huh?” Adora says as she turns into She-Ra. 

Catra takes a few steps back, maintaining Adora at arm’s length as the princess advances, but her back quickly meets the wall. Adora puts a hand against it, blocking her escape and looks down at her. “So I’m not cute right now?”

“Oh my, you want me to say you are cute that much?” Catra answers smugly.

Adora’s big hand easily grabs both of Catra’s wrist and softly hold them against the wall above Catra’s head. She places her other hand on Catra’s cheek. “I don’t know, try to say it!”

“Dummy.” Catra blushes all the way to the tip of her ears.

Adora leans down and kisses her strongly, a bit clumsily as she is still new to it. When the kiss ends, she releases Catra’s arms and puts her hands around Catra’s hips. Her grin turns into a loving smile. “And now?”

Catra puts her hands around Adora’s head and looks up into her eyes. “Okay, you _are_ cute.” She says strongly, then stands on tip-toes, pulls herself up with her arms until her lips are right next to She-Ra’s ear, to add in a whisper. “But Adora’s cuter.”

She-Ra instantly turns back into Adora, who’s blushing furiously. “That was so not fair!”

“Hey, you know I’m not!” Catra answers softly, her lips still close to Adora’s ear, before nibbling at it a little.

Adora lets escape a delighted little moan and her hands start to wander along Catra’s back, pressing the two girls close together. “It’s so good to see you relax and… happy.”

“Yeah. I don’t understand. My body aches all over, I just spent two terrible days facing my foolish stubborn destructive past self, Glimmer won’t stop talking to me about my flaws, Bow is going to tease me forever for being cute, and my hand hurts like crazy, but I’m happy. It’s too weird for me.”

“So you do know you _are_ cute!”

“Of course! I just hate when people say it!”

“Even when _I_ say it?”

“Who’s not fair now. Just say it until I’m used to it…” Catra whispers again. She leans slightly back, creating enough space between them for her elbows to slip down, until her hands are around Adora’s neck, her thumbs running along the edge of Adora’s jaws.

“Should we take care of your hand?” Adora asks at the sensation of the bandaged hand.

“Yes.” Catra answers, but instead of moving away she presses her lips against Adora’s. “We have time, I’ll be okay now!” Catra kisses again. Adora kisses her back.

“I also need a shower.” Adora remarks, remembering that yesterday she dropped asleep before taking one. She turns her head to the waterfall and starts grinning.

“Oh no, no, once is enough for me. I’ll take a real one.” Catra says after following Adora’s gaze.

They let go of each other, and walk to the bathroom area. Adora carefully unwrap Catra’s hand and examines it slowly. The care was really well done, and the wounds have almost disappeared. It still need time to heal, but nothing they can do about. She-Ra’s magic can mend injuries, but the person healed nevertheless feels the sensations of the wounds, so forcibly healing someone well on their way to recovery would only make them feel bad without much gain.

Adora undresses herself quickly. Catra is staring, sited on a stool. She takes her time to admire Adora, muscles glistening as she enters the shower, long blond hair flattening under the water. She glances at Catra.

“Why are you staring? You have seen me naked more time we can count.” Adora says slightly embarrassed.

“Well, yeah, but now your body is mine so I don’t have to hold back!” Catra answers in a proud and fond voice, but her eyes are hungry. Adora looks away, maybe slightly red, Catra can’t tell through the water. She smiles. 

“Then your body is mine too, so don’t make me wait too long!” Adora smirks, attempting to pose suggestively.

“Actually I would like to wait a little…” Catra answers seriously, looking down. Catra hates water. She settles to clean herself with a wet washcloth and brush.

“Why? I mean… I don’t mind, but why?” Adora answers, trying her best not to be too dense.

“Because we can? There is finally peace, I have all those things to think about, and it just seems nice to have the luxury of waiting… Not long, a few days? I don’t know...” Catra says, uneasy, not sure of her own words. She doesn’t deserve it, doesn’t deserve Adora, not yet. She feels too weak to accept all of her princess.

“Okay. Don’t worry about it. I didn’t mean to pressure you.” Adora answers as softly as she can, seeing Catra devoid of her previous energy. She finishes rinsing herself and steps out of the shower. She rolls up in a big towel and snatches Catra’s washcloth. Kneeling behind her, Adora starts washing her back gently.

Catra jumps a little at the touch, frowns, smiles, grins, winces. She doesn’t know what to feel. She wants Adora, Adora wants her, she feels like she just said something rude, and yet Adora is still showering her with love and care. Nobody taught her how to feel in this situation. And the princess words only make her feel weaker.

“I mean it, you know? We can keep with cuddle and hug all you want. It’s enough.” Adora gently says.

After Catra is all cleaned up to the tip of her tail, Adora takes another big towel and wraps her in it. She gently rubs her dry all over. Catra feels like she’s a kid again. It feels good in Adora’s arms.

Those little arms have become so strong.

Once she’s done, Adora stands up. Catra lets the towel drop and looks at her own arms. One of them aches, but the muscles are all the more visible for the efforts done earlier.

She is stronger too now. And her physical strength is only a fraction of it. She _feels_ strong. And dumb.

She jumps up and takes Adora by the waist and kisses her. Adora is taken by surprise, but certainly not refusing. She wraps Catra with both arms around her shoulders and closes her eyes. Her towel drops to the floor, and she feels Catra pressing against her to enjoy the warmth. Adora hesitates, but slightly open her mouth and her tongue is quickly met by Catra’s. After a few moments, one of Catra’s hand moves up to Adora’s breasts.

“You said you wanted to wait.” Adora exclaims, leaning back in surprised, visibly not understanding where this is supposed to go now.

“I know.” Catra answers as she leans forward and begins to lick Adora’s neck gently.

“You can’t just start and let me hanging in the middle, you know? I don’t mind waiting, but-”

“I know!” Catra says more strongly, her hand still moving up.

“Then stop-” Adora pushes away.

“I was stupid, okay? I was afraid of using our relationship as a distraction, a way of running away from my problems! But that was dumb, because now I’m happy, and after those two days I know that I can face them and that I’m not useless! And I love you, so if you want it too, shut up and let me touch you!”

“Okay?” Adora says charmed, as she lets herself down on the bed, an inviting hand stretched in Catra’s direction.

Catra takes the hand and kneels on the bed, straddling Adora’s laps. The princess almost instantly moves her arms around Catra’s lower back, hands open, fingers spread to feel as much of the fur as she can. Catra gently kisses her forehead, her temple, her cheek. Adora blushes, smiles, and she does too. Her hands softly fall on Adora’s shoulders, claws retracted, thumb massaging the soft skin. Adora moans softly when Catra’s hands move lower. Adora gets an excited jolt in response when her hand caresses the base of Catra’s tail.

Catra takes a second to breathe in, deeply, and looks into Adora’s eyes. She knows she has a hard path ahead, but she can do it, she feels really strong again for the first time in years. Lovely, loving, shining eyes. She breathes out. Now, this moment is only for the two of them! Her lips meet Adora’s, their tongue join and intertwine softly and she closes her eyes, enjoying every moment of it.

**Author's Note:**

> The events of the night are in a separate work with _appropriate_ ratings and tags *wink*  
> Check _Don't leave me hanging - Aftermath_ in my works list if interested!


End file.
